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Small Cabin Forum / Off-Grid Living / can't find right wood stove
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tedd
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2014 19:41
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My 1100 sq' camp is too well insulated for most wood stoves. I need something that is efficient at an output of 13,000 - 18,000 BTU's; cast body, has clean out ash pan and a glass door for evening viewing.

Any recommendations.

(Morso and VC stoves too expensive, F100 and 602 has no ash drawers in North American models.)

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2014 20:17
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Beware of the less expensive stoves that are not sealed well enough to damper down well. They leak enough air to keep them burning too hot, so I hear. I found my Morso on Craigslist for half price. Pays to be a Craigslist hawk.

beachman
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2014 20:27
Reply 


Check out the Pacific Energy wood stoves. We have a vista classic and it heats great. Has a glass window that stays fairly clean, and an ash drawer. The newer model stoves have a secondary burn chamber for efficiency and do not need catalytic converters.

jaransont3
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2014 21:05 - Edited by: jaransont3
Reply 


We replaced our antique cast iron boxwood stove after it cracked with a Drolet Eldorado stove.

Drolet Eldorado

It looks like it would meet your needs nicely. We really liked it in our 420 sq ft cabin.



old243
Member
# Posted: 25 Jan 2014 21:41
Reply 


We also have a pacific energy stove . Bought about 3 years ago . glass door, ashpan. Will hold a fire overnight , just drop a few ashes down every morning. and rake the live coals to the front. Good to go for the day. We probably dump our ash drawer every third day. Haven,t had to light it since fall. We have a circulating fan behind it that forces air and heat out, does a good job. Not cheap but you get what you pay for. our salesman recommended not buying the fan that is installed in the stove, they give problems and are expensive to replace. Our fan is a 10 inch purchased at the hardware store about 10 bucks. old243

MtnDon
Member
# Posted: 26 Jan 2014 00:53
Reply 


VC Aspen. There are no good cheap wood stoves.

turkeyhunter
Member
# Posted: 26 Jan 2014 08:31
Reply 


I have a FISHER Mama Bear / or Papa Bear...cant remember which model....fine stove for sure...I leave the door open and watch the fire...it holds 30 inch logs...I traded a guy 3 ribeyes for it/ fine trade!!

lawnjocky
Member
# Posted: 26 Jan 2014 11:01
Reply 


I have a Jotul 602 in my home that I love. It was a craigslist speacial, I think it was $200 with all the flue pipe, roof jack, etc. For searching Craigslist use searchtempest.com and you can search a wide area with one search.

A friend has a VC Aspen and it is a beautiful stove, she has glowing reports about it.

tedd
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 11:19
Reply 


jaransont3

Makes me a little nervious to see that Pactiv Green Board so close to the stove

That Eldorado looks mighty big in that room. I was hopng for a cast iron body; that is why I passed by the Drolet's previously (i.e. cast is supposedly better at retaining heat).

---------------

The Pacific Energy cast iorn stoves look great but the smallest one is two much stove for my superinsualted place. Its took 36 hours for my cottage to drop 5 degress F this weekend (we had -9 F Sat night) when I powered down the heaters this weekend for a test.

------------

I tried the Craigs List search - its got a lot of wood stoves and many within my area. Thanks. I have sent some emails already.


The Aspen is a nice little stove but like the Jotul 602, it is a long stove so the fire viewing window is on the end, not the side. The Acclaim is the shape I am looking for but it is too big for my space.


I see a few 602'sa and Bears for sale on Craigs list right now; as well as two Aspens.

----------------------

Size wise (in a cast iron model), I believe the the Jotul F100 is the right energy output for our place - max output 35,000 BTU's (I expect normal running output to be about 15,000 to 20,000). Its also the shape that fits the room best and the style we like (retangular with viewing window o the long side; stack wood east to west).
Ash pan is a must but the north american version of the F 100 has none

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 14:38
Reply 


I zeroed in on exactly what model I wanted, then occasionally searched Craigslist for that model, and low and behold, it came up about six months later. That was darn lucky, hope you find the Jotul model you want.

I would check any used stove I was considering buying for cracked castings. They can crack from years of use, particularly in the bottom of the firebox, or from a drop onto concrete.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 15:02
Reply 


tedd. what kind of super insulation system did you use?

I'm building a trailer "bedroom" for the camp this year and would like to hear the details of the insulation. right now my plan is a blend of polyiso/stud wall with roxul on the main level and SIP above...

tedd
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 15:50
Reply 


Creeky

9" to 14" dense packed cellulose for wall, floor and roof insulations - floor must be insulated (building is on posts/open crawl space) and we used boxes and boxes of polyether caulking (no BS Home Depot latex caulk) on every crack, joint, window frame; etc. Must have a moisture barrier between floor and earth to stop moisture drive into floor.

1" to 2" rain and weather barrier (under synthetic shakes siding) of pactive green board on every wall - heavier on the north and windward sides; carefully sealed windows and doors with flexible tape.

We screwed, lagged and glued everything (ply sheeting, all girders and interion/exterior frame; drywall; I emphasize - everything glued and screwed - no nails. Exteriro and or interior tapes on all seams, sills, sheathing on floor, walls and roof.

I was obsessive compulsive; "Must stop all infiltraion".

We installed 4 passive Aldes Airlets fresh air vents and ensure pressure balancing make up air for stove, kitchen, dryer and bath fan. Mechanical exhaust/passive fresh air intake.

If I might be direct - no offence - my research revealed that polyiso's R value degrades steadliy each year. I used Roxul S&S for interior walls sound insulation - its difficult to work with and messes up your skin, eyes and lungs.

Cellulose is clean (and mold and insect treated) and hydrophyllic: a preferred characteristic of insulation if you want to avoid condensation, mold, when the dew point is inside the wall, floor and roof cavities. The cellulose "manages" swings in human-made and weather-made moisture.

Glass, rock wool and foam are hydrophobic, so framng and adjacent sheating are prone to condensation and moisture damage (if the dew point is inside the envelope).

Search web for Robert Riversong on framing with modified larsen trusses, superinsulated building envelopes, etc.


I used a generator for the construction.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 16:47
Reply 


nice. you know the tech/research is moving so quickly now. i can't believe i've read 8,000 pages (researching for 3 years) and still feel i have a long way to go.

i'm looking for solutions that are ... fun to play with. i've been favouring polyiso over xps. recently i've considered xps, while not as r value heavy as polyiso, it handles water better and is actually better in a fire event. now i see the green guard ...

i've only looked briefly at cellulose. the double wall kind of throws me off. up till last fall i'd been looking at thinner event horizons ... 3 season/zone 5.

i'm really interested in the floor framing ... any pics?

so thanks for clearing out the next few weeks of my life while I look at Robert's work ... expletive deleted ;aaaaaaaaa0.

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 18:27
Reply 


tedd-

You are right that polyiso R value degrades with time, but my understanding is that it eventually levels off, it does not continue to degrade. There is a gas in the bubbles on the foam which gradually leaves and gets replaced by air. The gas is a better insulator than air, so they say, so new polyiso insulates better, but after the air transfer is complete it is still a good insulator.

I was unaware of the water characteristics you mentioned with different insulations- good info. From my research I think it's best to always vent over any insulation in a ceiling assembly, even if you have a water vapor barrier under the insulation, since you just don't know how water may get in there and it has to get out if it does.

tedd
Member
# Posted: 27 Jan 2014 20:23
Reply 


Type of insulation, its position inside or outside the VDR are decisions that need to take the location of the dew point into consideration.

This is worth reading before designing and selecting materials.

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-049-confusion-about-diffusion/v iew


Dew point calculator - http://www.cchrc.org/calculators

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On polyiso - it allows for thinner walls and single walled construction to get high R value.

http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/information-sheets/info-502-temperature-depe ndent-r-value

creeky
Member
# Posted: 26 Feb 2014 09:23
Reply 


I built an 8x16 pole barn outhouse with walls insulated with 3.5" of polyiso. At -20 C (all temps are celcius) on a sunny day with 24sq feet of south facing windows (6 of them, argon/e glazed ... repurposed at $6 ea.) it was -3 inside the outhouse. It had been -27 that night.

Because it's a pole barn frame i did not use any wood cladding. The building is clad entirely with polyiso. 1.5 exterior recycled between the girts (2x4). And two layers of polyiso 1" foil clad on the exterior.

Yesterday. At -4 inside at 6 a.m. (-17 exterior temp) it was 5 by 2 p.m. on a bright cloud day. It is currently plus 14 at 9 a.m. but the heater is back on! Still the heater is set to 8-10 and the sun is now providing the heat. It is -14 outside with a strong wind. Wind chill is reported at -21.

Because of the R value fluctuations with polyiso. I will probably add 1" of xps before cladding the building. I have 4" of xps on the floor. 1.5" iso in the ceiling with 6" of roxul on top.

Because the insulation was recycled this building was quite cheap to build.
shizzenshack framework
shizzenshack framework


Fitch Plate
Member
# Posted: 26 Feb 2014 21:20
Reply 


Can't tell by your photo if you have air-sealed the rigid foam joints. Taping and caulking all joints and connections will go a long way to slowing down heat loss and increasing comfort by blocking drafts.

Also, have you sealed the sills, top plate and rafter ends (at the blocking). I find the hardest part of pole barn finishing is the roof-ceiling to side wall connection.

Nice, crisp construction details in what we can see.

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